I'm an extro-introvert in RL. I keep to myself mostly, and I let everybody know it.

Tried the mysterious enigmatic loner thing. Wasn't much fun, because everybody knows that the mysterious kid that hangs out alone is either shy and wants to hide it, or a possible serial killer waiting to happen.

Its also my dating strategy. Brood in some dark corner, look deep and thoughtful. Attract a girl that wants a puzzle project "I wonder what is under that strangers multiple shells/walls/defences". This has worked about twice in all my years.

Anywai, I have a lot of social anxiety. I really care what people I've just met and might never see again think of me. And its stupid. I actually like being with people though. I discovered this after an extended period of solitude and I went pretty stir crazy. The trouble is being with people I dont already know very well is exhausting. Maybe everybody is like that and they just do a better hiding it, but needless to say I am jealous of those that seem to be able to swan around socialising effortlessly.

ps. Does anybody actually enjoy smalltalk? I was under the impression that the whole world accepted it as some sort of necessary evil. It never occurred to me that some might actually like it. Its just probing for a commonality and once you get there its like bam, now we can start a real conversation.

Isn't up and to the right recollection? Up and to the left is imagination. ... ?

>> ^Jinx:

>> ^GeeSussFreeK:
Eyes, up and to the left = liars.

We do that when recollecting something that actually happened too though. Because everybody knows that a shifty gaze looks suspicious liars will attempt to mask it by staring you down. On the flip side I can think of a few occasions where I knew somebody suspected me of lying even when I was truthful. So I try no to make any gestures that might be misconstrued as tells and I end up looking even more stiff and awkward. Basically I think all that stuff is kinda bs, especially considering confirmaton bias.

>> ^GeeSussFreeK:

Eyes, up and to the left = liars.

We do that when recollecting something that actually happened too though. Because everybody knows that a shifty gaze looks suspicious liars will attempt to mask it by staring you down. On the flip side I can think of a few occasions where I knew somebody suspected me of lying even when I was truthful. So I try no to make any gestures that might be misconstrued as tells and I end up looking even more stiff and awkward. Basically I think all that stuff is kinda bs, especially considering confirmaton bias.

>> ^quantumushroom:

"Simpsons animator weighs in." They've all been "weighing in" as pro-taxocrat liberals since back when the show used to be funny, in 1995.
There was never any "surplus", which would mean the national debt was zero.
Tax cuts won't work if you keep spending more than is/can be taken in.
Who really pays the taxes? 70% of all taxes are paid by the wealthy while 50% of Americans pay no federal income tax.
"Deregulation" caused the housing crisis? Bullsh1t.
The short answer to why this sift is bunkum? Europe. That's the socialism American taxocrats want. How has it worked out over there?


I'm sorry QM, sometimes I totally get your arguments. The fact is though that the American people wouldn't vote Republican (or Democrat) if they knew they could be voting FOR their interests and not for a PR Bullshit show. Both parties are significantly to the Right of the Public, on almost every issue down the list. The people are supposed to stay out of running the country, we're not supposed to have a say. Because if we did suddenly the Banks would be regulated. Our Foreign Policy would not include having bases all over the world trying to control it. Nafta wouldn't fucking exist and everyone would have health care and free education. People would own and work the factories in their towns and it wouldn't be run by some faceless corporate entity. Life would be what we make of it, if this was a functioning democracy.

Also Simpsons was funny until 98 stupid! Everybody knows that!!! Well a few episodes were at least.

Just to make sure that everybody knows what is going on here. She did not catch a shark. She catched a fish, that got eaten by a shark.

So even though the law specifically states partial birth abortions won't be allowed unless to protect the life of the mother, which btw, the average American you keep sighting would agree should be allowed, it's going to effectively let virtually every partial birth abortion to occur. That's right wing paranoia. The law specifically states otherwise, period. So even when it says that, you're saying otherwise.

Past that btw, are you saying that if a woman didn't abort the baby she would die, they should be legally required to have the baby anyway? Here's the problem; even if what you said is true that the floodgates for partial birth abortions would open, all you're proving is the impossibility to enforce the law. The overwhelming majority of Americans are against partial birth abortion bans that don't allow exceptions when the mother's health is at risk, or in cases of rape or incest.

There are plenty of laws where it's just impractical to enforce properly. I think if the entire US would abide by Prohibition, our society would be much better off without alcohol in the end, considering rates of alcoholism, etc. But it was impossible to enforce, so it was a bad law. I don't personally drink, and both my parents are recovering alcoholics, but I'd never be in favor of Prohibition.

Regardless, FOCA is not far left. It's not. This isn't intellectual dishonesty. I don't even care honestly if it passes or not. But it's not far left. Far left would not contain provisions at all to limit partial birth abortions. It would outright say parental consent laws are superceded and invalid. Etc. FOCA hasn't a single one of those things. It's center-left. But you're calling it far left because it's in any degree more left than where we are now. Same thing with what you're saying about moving any direction to the left on gay marriage. That's ridiculous. This is why we can't make any progress anymore legislatively or politically. Everyone thinks giving up an inch, even when it's a reasonable concession, is a slippery slope, the flood gates will open, Armageddon is coming, blah blah blah. The simple fact of the matter is while we're split on abortion, probably 70% of Americans would agree that we should limit partial birth abortions, but we should have exceptions for rape, incest, and for the health of the mother. FOCA is a reasonable compromise to move a tick to the left. Instead, it's tared and feathered as hard left, with many allegations that are outright lies, not just bending of the truth. Your point about the parental involvement requirements as a case in point. That's utter horsecrap, and you know it.

Prove provisions of the Obamacare is causing your mother's current health insurance coverage to be eliminated, and her premiums to go up. Prove it, explain what's going on, and show me where in Obamacare it's causing this. Until you can prove that, I'm calling BS.

I'm not saying companies don't end certain insurance policies because of Obamacare. I have a friend who works for Microsoft, and they're ending their health insurance plan in favor of another because the current plan falls under the category of a "Cadillac" health insurance plan, and will be penalized via a tax. So he'll go from super-awesome health insurance better than virtually any plan you could hope to find to a darn good one. He's pissed as hell because of this, but when I asked him did he look at this from the perspective of if this is good policy for society as a whole, he looked dumbfounded, as if why should he even consider that. If society as a whole is better off, I don't really care he has health insurance coverage a little closer to what the rest of us have. That should be the debate, not people deciding based on their own selfish interests.

The simple fact of the matter is health insurance premiums were already going up well before Obamacare was ever passed, but a lot of people now blame current premium increases conveniently on Obamacare when they don't know that was the reason why. Forget facts, it's that dang communist Obama!

I have a warped view of what's center-left vs hard left? If the only thing concerning gay marriage that Obama is advocating changing is that the federal gov't will begin recognizing the marriage legal IF and ONLY IF the couple's state considers it legal, explain how that's far left. If the only change to abortion laws is ensuring exceptions to partial birth abortions in cases of rape, incest, and to protect the health of the mother, explain how that's hard left. Explain how Obamacare, which largely keeps the same health care system we already have in place, is hard left. By definition, if we still have employee sponsored health insurance, no public option, no single payer, that's not a hard move to the left. It's not. The conservative right paints them all as these extreme measures, but every single one are compromises. Every single one of them, period.

And here's the result - Conservatives are urging the Supreme Court to dismantle the most significant health care reform since the invention of Medicaid to go back to a system everybody knows is broken, with no plan ready to fix it. We haven't even let Obamacare take effect quite honestly, but it's not stopping the GOP from claiming it's killing the economy. Ridiculous.

>> ^shinyblurry:


Hardly. FOCA will nullify the partial birth abortion ban, and any other state law which could be interpreted to "interfere" with a womans "right" to an abortion. The untruth is to say it is simply codifying roe vs wade; It will create substantial changes to hundreds of laws.
Yes, the law contains language that partial birth abortions would only be allowed in situations where the "health" of the woman could be impacted. Well, that is a meaningless distinction. Almost anything could be allowed under those circumstances, including mental health issues. The fact is, the ban will be repealed and partial birth abortions will be a go, and many will be justified under some flimsy pretext.
Again, to say FOCA isn't far left is simply to be intellectually dishonest. It goes far beyond what the average american would approve of.
I hope it gets thrown out if only for my mothers sake, who will have her current coverage eliminated and her premiums raised because of it.
What's clear is that you have a much different idea of what is far left, and what isn't from the average person.
>> ^heropsycho:

I think once you've stepped in shot you've just gotta keep going. Cross the whole frame like a boss, make it soo nonchalent that everybody knows you were meant to be there. Don't pussy out in the middle and declare to the whole world that you fucked up.

It's hard to think of a group from the last 50 years who have written and performed more influential Rock and Roots music, and who fewer people know by name than "The Band". I just don't get it. I guess part of the answer is the fact that they pretty much dropped off the map completely after "The Last Waltz" in 1976.

I've mentioned to several friends over the past couple of days just how saddened I was by Levon's death, and the inevitable response is "Who?".

But everybody knows the music. Maybe that's enough.

As for Levon- he's on his way to Venus to meet his son Jesus.

It was an accident, I swear!



... ok it was mostly an accident ...

>> ^oritteropo:

Hey, everybody knows who you are: You're that guy who broke the lounge
>> ^berticus:
@lucky760 it happens to me a lot... not that you even know who i am

Hey, everybody knows who you are: You're that guy who broke the lounge
>> ^berticus:

@lucky760 it happens to me a lot... not that you even know who i am

>> ^Opus_Moderandi:

Not to rain on guy's parade but, big deal. Everybody knows how to sign "Thank you." I'm curious to know if Obama even understood what was being signed TO him. He was SAYING "Thank you" to all the other people anyway... :-/


Yeah, that's what I thought, haha. Then I figured from everyone else's comments, obviously everyone doesn't now how to sign thank you. The only saving grace of this vid is unlike other politicians (probably) he just took it in stride and didn't act awkward or patronising at all, just said thank you and moved along, as he did the rest of the crowd.

I don't know how to sign "thank you". Now I do!
>> ^Opus_Moderandi:

Not to rain on guy's parade but, big deal. Everybody knows how to sign "Thank you." I'm curious to know if Obama even understood what was being signed TO him. He was SAYING "Thank you" to all the other people anyway... :-/

Not to rain on guy's parade but, big deal. Everybody knows how to sign "Thank you." I'm curious to know if Obama even understood what was being signed TO him. He was SAYING "Thank you" to all the other people anyway... :-/

>> ^MonkeySpank:

When the law was enacted back in '05; I remember people complaining that crap like this would happen, and so it did. A life was lost, and the right thing to do, race aside, is to honor that life by doing due diligence. The president has feelings, but as a public figure, he cannot express his personal opinion. I know how he feels and I agree with him, but I also agree with the fact that he should let the proper authorities comment on it. He's the president, not a TV talking head. This is a local matter that should not have been asked to a president in the first place - this is troll journalism at best.

>> ^HenningKO:
Sucks he can't say what he feels. He looks in pain. The one real thing he said... the title of this post... speaks volumes tho.



And everybody knows that any side he takes will be the wrong side and Fox et al. will open up on him with both barrels.

If he's against Trayvon, then he's soft on crime.

If he's down on the investigation, then he hates cops.

That is the GOP framing in a nutshell.